• Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    My daughter was very severely bullied in her middle school and we put her in an online school she does from home, but it’s a public school with classes (via videoconference) with actual accredited teachers and the same awful Pierson textbooks everyone else uses anyway because Pierson, unfortunately, runs the program despite it being a public school.

    She got the best grades she’s ever gotten and gained a ton of self confidence when she was self-harming before.

    Not exactly homeschooling as it is usually thought of, but she does do school from home.

    Incidentally, this also means I can correct the information in her health class about things like cannabis and can also make sure she understands that her social studies class is often giving her the right wing or corporate viewpoints that are typical in American schools. She knows she still has to answer their way, but at least she knows what they’re lying about when I can show her that they’re lying.

    • areyouevenreal@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      What sort of stuff do they teach about cannabis in health class that’s so badly wrong? I am not an American so I don’t really know.

      I remember in ours while they talked about the dangers of drugs in some disingenuous ways, they also put a lot of emphasis on the dangers of alcohol and nicotine. Specifically I remember them comparing either alcohol or nicotine to cocaine or cannabis or something and saying that the nicotine was more addictive than the illicit substance.

      Cannabis isn’t nearly as harmless as people like to think, but that doesn’t mean it’s as harmful as others would have you believe. It’s certainly less physically destructive and somewhat less addictive than something like alcohol which should always be considered a “hard drug”.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        The biggest lie is that it is a “gateway drug,” that using it will end up getting you addicted to heroin or whatever. They also classified it as a unique drug, different from any other illegal substance in the U.S.

        I talked about it here: https://lemmy.world/post/15142373

        In regard to other substances, they pushed AA, which is not scientific and has not been shown to be effective for most people (although it does work for some) and said absolutely nothing about pharmaceutical treatment for smoking or alcohol cessation.

        That’s what I remember from the top of my head, but there were other things too.

        • areyouevenreal@lemm.ee
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          3 days ago

          The gateway phenomenon does exist. It isn’t caused by the substance itself but rather by it being illegal. Using it puts you in contact with people who sell or use other illicit substances. Legalisation would fix this issue obviously.

          Cannabis is from a unique class of substances (cannabinoids) named after it. This is because it was the first known of its type, and combines stimulant, depressant, and hallucinogenic effects. I don’t know about it’s legal classification in the USA, but here it’s a standard Class B substance.

          I agree about AA and NA though. There really shouldn’t be any room for such religious nonsense in state policy, or just in general.